2010 VZ11

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2010 VZ11

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 27,360,862 km of Earth in 2024
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 VZ11 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 VZ11 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2010 VZ11 orbits the sun every 424 days (1.16 years), coming as close as 0.93 AU and reaching as far as 1.27 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 VZ11 is probably between 0.013 to 0.059 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

The rotation of 2010 VZ11 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.16 hours.

Close Approaches

2010 VZ11's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2010 VZ11 has 4 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 11, 2024 27,360,862 9.545
Nov. 8, 2039 9,240,501 6.603
May 12, 2046 26,628,150 3.928
June 20, 2053 9,582,254 4.483

Images and Observations

2010 VZ11's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 4, 2010. It was last officially observed on Nov. 24, 2010. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 72 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2010 VZ11 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 6.747 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 134,567 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2010 VZ11.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2010 VZ11:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.104 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1538
  • Inclination: 4.64°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 42.4°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 300.63°
  • Mean Anomaly: 72.2°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.036 km
  • Magnitude: 25.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 424 days (1.16 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.33 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.27 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.93 AU
  • Rotation Period: 0.16 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2010 VZ11 is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2010 VZ11 to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.